secondary cuts

Not Your Mama´s Chicken/Noodle Soup – “Chicken Pho” (Phở Gà)

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If you have followed ChefsOpinion for a while, you might be aware of my passion for soups, especially for chicken noodle soup, prepared any-which-way.
Without a doubt, the soup featured on this page is by far the best chicken noodle soup I have ever tasted.
The combination and the amount used of the special chicken and all the veggies, as well as the seasoning/aromatics and the six hours of cooking resulted in a heavenly broth, for which only the wide rice noodles and garden-fresh cilantro was needed to transform these simple ingredients into a wonderful, immensely satisfying culinary delight. 🙂
( The plate prepared for the original photo shoot already was all that – but then, the plate I prepared later on with all the “secondary cuts” (neck, wings and dark meat), which was originally not intended to be included in this post, was even better and “hit it out of the park” ) 🙂
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Bon Appétit ! Life is Good !
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P.S.
To prepare the best tasting chicken broth, one must use “Suppen Huhn” (Boiling Fowl, which needs to simmer between three to six hours to be sufficiently tender for the meat to be enjoyed.
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Not Your Mama´s Chicken/Noodle Soup – “Chicken Pho” (Phở Gà)

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And later on, the second helping looked like this :
(Originally, these photos were not intended to be published 🙂
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Not Your Mama´s Chicken/Noodle Soup – “Chicken Pho” (Phở Gà)

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Preparation :
To read instructions, hover over pictures
To enlarge pictures and read instructions, click on pictures

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: Chop Stick Holder

: The Good Stuff…..

: 1 ea 3 lbs “suppenhuhn”, 2 lbs chicken backs, 3 lbs “suppengemüse”

: simmer in 10 qt lightly salted water (the stock will reduce to about 2-3 qt, so take it very easy with the salt at this time)

: after 2 hours, the chicken is still extremely tough

: at this point, add 8 ea star anis, 3 ea cinnamon sticks, 2 tblsp szechuan pepper, 1 tblsp ginger/garlic paste, 1 tblsp brown sugar and 21 tblsp lemon juice and a inch of cayenne pepper

: simmer until the chicken is tender (between 3 and 4 hours more)

: after 6 hours of slowly simmering

: remove the chicken, cover with a damp clothe to avoid discoloring of the meat

: strain the soup, discard the solids (there should be 2 qt soup at this point, if not, adjust bey reducing or adding liquid), recipe makes 2 generous main courses or 6 appetizers

: remove the fat to the amount (or none) you prefer, check/adjust the seasoning

: liquid gold

: cover the rice noodles with very hot water, let them steep according to the instruction on the packeging

: remove the meat from the bones, separately remove the skin, wings and neck optional) keep the white and dark meat separate (optional)

: white meat only

: white meat, dark meat, neck, wings, skin

: add rice noodles to a bowl,

: top with white meat

: top with broth, sprinkle generously with cilantro

: Not Your Mama´s Chicken/Noodle Soup – “Chicken Pho” (Phở Gà)

: Not Your Mama´s Chicken/Noodle Soup – “Chicken Pho” (Phở Gà)

: Not Your Mama´s Chicken/Noodle Soup – “Chicken Pho” (Phở Gà)

: Not Your Mama´s Chicken/Noodle Soup – “Chicken Pho” (Phở Gà)

: Not Your Mama´s Chicken/Noodle Soup – “Chicken Pho” (Phở Gà)

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Malbec-Braised Pork Belly With Napa Potatoes

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For a long time, nobody around here would touch Pork belly with a ten-foot pole.
Pork belly was deemed to be inferior, unhealthy and fattening. However, during the past couple of years, secondary meat cuts (as well as offal) have become “IN”, so all of a sudden pork belly, almost always “Asian Glazed”, has popped up on every menu in town. While this could be a good development, the sad fact is that a tiny portion of pork belly now costs as much as a steak and most preparations leave a lot to be desired.
The smart solution? Cook it at home, naturally 🙂
I grew up with pork belly and most other secondary cuts, as well as offal, so I have been eating this stuff all my life and have a number of recipes for all of them.
Yesterday I prepared pork belly in one of the most simple yet also most delicious way:
Braised in red wine and veggies, served with mashed potatoes.
When I was a kid, my Mom used to mix the mashed potatoes with fresh cabbage to make a very hearty and tasty dish. Although I don’t remember the name of this dish, it stayed in my memory because my brother and I loved it, but my Dad hated it because in his opinion it was not traditional and therefore should not be served for a proper meal. This dish approximates the Italian “Lesso di Patate e Cavolo Verza” and the Irish “Colcannon”. Apparently, my Mom was right-on with her creation 🙂
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Bon Appétit ! Life is Good !
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Malbec-Braised Pork Belly With Napa Potatoes

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Preparation :
To read instructions, hover over pictures
To enlarge pictures and read instructions, click on pictures
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: cut 2 lbs pork belly into 8 thick pieces, season with kosher salt and fresh-cracked pepper

: saute pork belly on all sides until golden brown

: remove pork from pan, reserve

: in the same pan, saute 1 cup diced carrots and onions until caramelized, deglaze with 3 cups malbec (or red wine of your preference)

: return the pork to the pan, add 3 cups of beef stock

: cover pan, simmer until pork is tender, about 2 ,5 hours

: meanwhile, peel and dice 2 lbs potatoes, cook in salted water, drain

: while the pork and the potatoes are cooking, saute 1 cup onion julienne in 3 oz whole butter and 3 oz olive oil until translucent

: add 1 ea sliced napa cabbage and 1 cup chicken or beef stock, saute until cabbage wilt’s

: add the cooked potatoes

: mash the potatoes coarsely, season with kosher salt and cayenne pepper

: if the potatoes are too dry, add olive oil until the puree has the desired texture

: check/adjust the seasoning

: when the pork belly is tender, add 1/2 cup sliced scallions, check/adjust seasoning

: plate the potato puree, top with the pork belly and sauce or serve pork belly and sauce separate; serves 4

: Malbec-Braised Pork Belly With Napa Potatoes

: Malbec-Braised Pork Belly With Napa Potatoes

: Malbec-Braised Pork Belly With Napa Potatoes

: Malbec-Braised Pork Belly With Napa Potatoes

: Malbec-Braised Pork Belly With Napa Potatoes

: Malbec-Braised Pork Belly With Napa Potatoes

: Malbec-Braised Pork Belly With Napa Potatoes

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Ginger And Soy Braised Cornish Hens With Spicy Cucumber Pickles

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Going shopping at the grocery store involves ever bigger monetary transactions 😦 .
I used to enjoy shopping for food, usually buying way too much food and therefore giving away much of it in order to avoid waste.
Well, those times are nothing but happy memories. Whereas spending $200 a week was usually plenty enough to buy enough perishables, groceries and general household supplies for our family of 3 humans and 3 dogs just a few short years ago, the same amount now hardly covers the basic needs just for myself and Bella.
(Hearing the politicians in power tell the story, America is doing better all the time ???? – I wonder who really still believes this crap ?! )
Real income for the masses has actually decreased during the past decade, while cost of living has increased at an alarming rate, and a large part of the population can’t afford the basics anymore, such as good nutrition, healthcare, proper clothing, proper housing, transport etc. MANY people have to make a choice which essentials they will enjoy and which one’s to forgo, because a combination all of them together is out of their reach.
And now for the good news:
Cornish Hens are still one of the most affordable proteins, at around $ 4.00 a pop in most big city supermarkets 🙂 Even secondary cuts of other proteins usually cost at least the same or more. In this context it is great that most folks are not so familiar with cornish hens, which results in less demand and therefore keeps the price at an affordable level.
So, there you have it: A great quality protein at an affordable price 🙂
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Bon Appétit ! Life is Good !
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Ginger And Soy Braised Cornish Hens With Cucumber Pickles

Ginger And Soy Braised Cornish Hens With Spicy Cucumber Pickles

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Preparation :
To read instructions, hover over pictures
To enlarge pictures and read instructions, click on pictures
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: cornish hens

: cut cornish hens in half ( if you have guests for dinner, you might want to trim the legs and wings and remove the backbone; however, for a more informal meal, holding the hens with your hands and taking the meat of the bones with your teeth is part of the pleasure of eating poultry) 🙂

: season with 2 tblsp chili paste, 1/2 tblsp garlic paste, 1 tblsp soy sauce, 1 tblsp hoi sin sauce,1 tsp grated ginger and kosher salt to taste

: saute hens in 1 tblsp peanut oil on both sides until golden brown

: beauties …… 🙂

: add 1 cup chicken stock and 1/2 cup sherry, cover and simmer until cooked through and liquid has all but evaporated

: meanwhile, prepare the spicy cucumbers; cut 1 medium size cucumber on 4 sides, leaving and discarding the seedy center

: seedless cucumber batons

: season with 3 tbls sweet thai chili paste, 1 tblsp rice vinegar, 1 tsp garlic paste, 1/4 tsp grated ginger, 1 tsp sesame oil and dried chili flakes and kosher salt to taste